Shadow Talon
by tiny-phoenix
Summary: When the Worgen attacked Gilneas, the prominent Montelot family were abandoned to a fate of slashing claws and death. Now that the Forsaken are invading, Talenne has the choice to help those who abandoned her or take revenge by watching them burn.
1. Wills

"Lady Montelot? Have you anything more to say about this matter?"

The voice pierced the mist. The mist that had kept me so calm, the mist that had kept me from falling apart completely. It settled around me just after the final death toll number had reached my ears and it had been there ever since, swirling in and out of my mind and keeping a protective cloud over my eyes. I very much liked the mist. And this man's voice had just jolted it.

He piped up again in his squeaky, irritating voice. "Lady Montelot! Have you anymore to say?"

I turned my eyes up to meet his directly and I saw him shift uncomfortably. That was the way that most people reacted to eye contact with me. It was a consequence to having such an eye color that was so.. unique. I spoke in the same level, monotone voice that had seemingly taken mine over since the incidents had occurred. "No. I've nothing more to say." I was about to leave it there, but then a sudden spike in energy, one that I hadn't experienced in weeks, surged through me. I kept my eye contact, but I felt them narrow slightly. This unnerved the man and his colleagues even more. "Now if you would, wrap up these proceedings before I lose my patience and wrap them up for you. I find no pleasure in divvying up the possessions of the dead."

I saw the way they flinched as I added my last statement. They knew the underlying threat that it held. Everyone did. That's why they had been treating me with different manners. Almost like I was a stray dog that was kept as a pet. It looks like a normal pet, but it is known that the dog could snap at any moment and show it's true fangs. The squeaking man stammered and fumbled with the papers he held, some of them slipping to the ground. As he did, the mist shrunk to me a little tighter, as if approving of my actions.

"Y-yes, well, ah.. I believe if there are no issues, we can get all of these documents signed and have you on your way, Lady." He looked nervously at his companions, who stared for a moment before nodding quickly, sifting through their papers and sliding a few of them across the table to me. The squeaky man (I had not bothered to catch his name. The mist had not deemed it important enough to reach my ears) took a wary step closer, but not too close, to me, looking down at the documents and pointing to each of them in turn. "That one is for ownership of all of your father's estates, including the farms and your own personal home. This one here if for the office in the.. the city.. And this last one is for all of his assets and possessions."

I couldn't hold back the small snort that escaped me. "The office in the city?"

The man stammered again. "Yes, w-well we understand the circumstances, but.. it.. was still included in the wills.."

The office probably wasn't even standing at that time. It was probably in shambles, like the rest of the city. The Worgen had not been kind to it.

I quickly signed all of the documents, my hand moving swiftly, despite the mist. As I slid the papers back, I rose from the large chair. The mist was back in full force now, making a whirlwind around my head. As I moved towards the double-doors that let out into the foyer of the firm, all I said was a curt, "Good day, gentlemen." As the door shut behind me, I heard a chorus of wary, "Good day, Lady Montelot…"

Aggie was waiting in the carriage. I got in without a word and let the door slam behind me, taking my seat across from the quiet old woman. She did not even glance up from her knitting. "How did it go, dear?"

I grunted in reply, for the mist told me that Aggie would get the point without my words. She sighed and set down the blue scarf that she was knitting. Looking up, she tucked a wisp of white hair behind her ear. "Now, now. You must be a little more sociable to people. They don't know any better, Talenne. Can you blame them for staring? Look at you."

I brought my bright-golden eyes up to meet hers. She didn't flinch like the lawyers had. The mist didn't like this, and it constricted around me. "I do not need to be sociable. I do not need the approval of these people. They abandoned my family and I have no need for cowards. Let them rot and rebuild their city by themselves. I will not set foot in it."

Aggie sighed, going back to her knitting as the carriage jolted and began to move back towards Keel Harbor. "That's going to make it very difficult to get the groceries and such.. I'll manage.."


	2. Lost Control

After the attacks and after all of the funeral arrangements, I had a lot of free time. Perhaps too much, because I began spending more and more time in the library of the house, having Aggie bring up the meals. No matter how much I tried, she refused to leave the house. For good reason, I suppose, because if it had been left only to me, the large house would've been a dusty mess in less than a week.

At first, I only spent a few hours a day in the library because Aggie insisted that I had to be available in case mourners came by to express their condolences. No mourners ever came to the house. I had always guessed that it was because they weren't sure if I would be the sad, grief-stricken daughter or the furious woman, the one who was left behind. After I realized that no mourners were ever going to come through our gates, I spent whole days at a time in the library.

It was one of the few times in my life that I was honestly able to thank my father. He had amassed thousands of books over the years about thousands of topics because he had intended for my brother to be the knowledgeable warrior. Eventually, in my father's ideal world, my brother would be a general or a commander. For me.. Well, there were different plans set aside for me. Whether or not my father's intentions were good, the books were here and I planned to use them. Of course, I didn't find much to work with. Apparently the elves had a lot more to do with the Worgen than the humans did and Gilneas had been shut off so long that most of the books only briefly mentioned them.

Around the time that I began extending my stays in the library is when the mist began to settle around me. At first I resisted the calmness and quiet that it granted me, but over time I found that it helped numb me. I was no longer furiously flipping through pages, looking for specific words, but rather I was analyzing each and every page, with the mist sifting through the information and deeming what was or was not relevant. Months later, I would find out that Aggie frequently walked about the library while I occupied it, but I was so engrossed in the books and so shrouded by my protective mist that I never even realized that she was present.

One day, the gloomy Gilneas clouds decided that they were ready to mourn the loss of life and the loss of humanity. The tears of Gilneas poured down like I had never seen before and the thunder was loud enough to actually penetrate a bit through my mist. As I tried to concentrate on an especially old book with some of the words faded, Aggie swung open the large door to the library and stood there for a moment, pale-faced, before I looked up. "What is it?"

She took a sharp breath before she said, "There's someone here to see you."

"Who?" I hadn't even heard knocking at the door but that was probably thanks to a combination of the grief-filled roars in the sky and the numbness of my own mind.

It was the only time I witnessed Aggie show some signs of nervousness. She shifted uncomfortably and wrung her hands. "Perhaps you should just come.. But please, Talenne, be careful.." I remember how I just sat there for a moment and the mist lifted. _Is it that bad_? I thought to myself. _So bad that even Aggie doesn't know how I'll react anymore? Am I so unpredictable.._ Then the mist slammed back down onto me, and these thoughts disappeared. I rose up, swept past Aggie and stood at the top of the staircase, looking down to see who dared to disturb my research. I saw _him_ standing there and for a second, I fought the mist that was clouding my vision because I simply couldn't believe it.

I took a deep breath and began to descend the stairs. I was trying my absolute best not to stumble or fall on the steps because it was tough to concentrate on walking with the mist trying to stifle my senses. When I was halfway down the stairs, he looked up and his stance and eyes grew wary. This made my heart drop and my hand tightened a little bit on the railing as I thought, _Even you_?

At the bottom of the stairs, we both stood there for a moment, staring at each other. Looking back, I realize that we were both sizing the other one up, deciding who was more dangerous to who. Then I spoke. "Liam," I said, giving a small curtsey. I was never big on the whole damsel-in-distress and proper manners thing, but I still had some respect. I heard Aggie gasp loudly and looked up just in time to see her flinch a little at my casual addressing of the prince of Gilneas. I turned back to him and hissed, "I mean, _Prince_ Greymane."

A sad expression flitted across his face and he took a small step towards me. "Talenne.. You know you don't need to use those titles."

"Well, I'm not quite sure where I stand with the monarchy these days." I fixed my gold eyes onto him, but he would not make eye contact. The mist loosened its grip on me a bit. It was most comfortable when people were uncomfortable with me.

"I.. I never came by to express my regret at the loss of your family," he began, keeping his eyes downcast, "and I am sorry for that. They were good people. My father would have come with me, but there's a lot to be done now that we've settled everything in the city again."

I did not say anything but I watched Liam's face carefully, my eyes narrowing. He simply would not make his eyes meet mine. _Why_? I asked myself. _Because he's afraid or because he's ashamed? Or maybe he's regretting that one of us actually survived._ I shook my head. I had to make myself stop that kind of thinking.

Liam spoke up again, very tentatively. "Talenne.. We need someone to fill your father's seat. He was a very important man on the council and I know the loss is bad, but now that the city's rebuilt, we can get back to business.." The swishing of the mist drowned him out as he began speaking faster and faster. Then it all became too much, the tightness of the mist and the buzzing of his voice in the background and I could still hear Aggie creaking on the landing above us and the thunder roaring in anger outside. I shut my eyes tightly and clenched my fists, gritting my teeth tightly.

He stopped talking. "Talenne? Are you alright, are you listening?" He was so engrossed in what he was saying that for a moment, I think he forgot what I had become and he foolishly took a step toward, stretching his hand out to lightly touch my arm. The instant that his fingers brushed my arm, I snapped, grabbing his hand with mine, as tightly as I could. Much to my horror, the fingers of my hand had already transformed into long, dark amber claws. When I brought my panicked eyes up to his frozen ones, I saw the reflection of my face, and the fangs that were beginning to lengthen in my mouth.

I snatched my hand back and stumbled a few steps backwards, snarling at Liam. I didn't look, but I could hear Aggie dashing down the steps. "Prince Greymane, please, she'll be fine, just give her a moment.." But I was already yelling, and I drowned her out.

"No, Liam, I'm _not_ listening! You would dare come into this house and talk to me about my father's place on the council? If he was so important on the damned council, perhaps a few men could've been spared to make sure he wasn't _murdered_ here! Were we so out of the way from the city? Too far to send a few archers?" In my hand-turned-claw, a ball of shadow energy began to swirl. The mist hissed and spun happily. Liam stared at my hand, a genuinely perplexed look on his face.

"Talenne, what are you talking about? And what is that? What have you been doing?" _Why does he look so surprised?_ I remember thinking. _He _is _ashamed that I was left behind_.

"Get out, Liam," I said, in a low voice, the voice that was growing huskier by the second. "Get out and do not ever return to this place. If you send messengers, you won't get them back. Fill my father's seat with whoever you please."

He took a step forward, despite Aggie trying to keep him back. "Talenne! Please, tell me what you're talking about! Talenne! Look at me, please. Talenne!" He paused, gritted his teeth, and then whispered, "Talon.." At this, I knew I simply could not take anymore.

"You never came, Liam! Never!" The shadow ball grew bigger and I felt the power surging through me, the whispers of the darkness, the delighted screeching of the mist. "Why? Because of this?" I held up my other hand, my other claw. "Because I changed?"

He didn't say anything, but his face looked genuinely confused. At the time, however, I didn't notice that. I slammed a fist into the wooden cabinet behind me and roughly pushed open the double doors leading into a corridor next to me, walking as quickly as I could away from the foyer. I heard shuffling footsteps as he began to follow me, but I boomed out, "LEAVE!" The footsteps stopped, and a moment later they started up again, but towards the front door.

The next time I saw Liam would also be the last time. I wish I had known. But I didn't know and at the time, I think I came close to hating him.

I sat in the corner of the kitchen until my hand returned to normal and I couldn't feel the fangs anymore. The shadows of the dark room caressed me and tried to comfort me and even the mist shrunk away a bit from the shadows. I fell asleep there and I dreamed. But the dreams were nightmares because I lived it all over again, the forced lessons, the demons, the attacks, the hate, the screams.


	3. Nightmares

There was a woman in the sitting room. She sat by herself on the long couch, her knees practically knocking together and her hands wringing. I walked around where she sat and felt a soft breeze on my cheek. Eyes widening, I turned to my right and gasped softly as I saw that the large, double-doored windows of the sitting room were actually _open_. In my whole memory, I could not pull out a single time when the beautiful windows had actually been wide open, the pure white curtains moving fluidly in the sea wind coming up from Keel Harbor. I moved slowly towards the opening of the window, fearing that if I moved too quickly, the windows would shut and the beauty would dissolve from the room. But as I looked out, I heard the doors of the sitting room open and shut abruptly and all of a sudden, it was as if the sunshine had been sucked from the room.

Turning, I saw a tall man standing in front of the woman. He had dark brown hair and coal-black eyes, beady little things that flitted from side to side as if he was constantly analyzing everything in the room. Finally the little stones came to rest on the woman, who, I now saw, had bright amber hair and brown eyes. _She's very pretty_, I thought, examining her. I couldn't help but notice how much different she was from the sour-looking man. He let out a little breath of impatience and began to speak in a deep voice. "Madeline, shut those windows, those curtains are going to get wrinkled and this is a sitting room, not a forest."

The woman, Madeline, rose quickly and hurried to each of the windows, shutting and fastening them. One time, she came so close to me that I breathed in her scent, a mix of grass and ocean air. On the last windows, she hesitated and spun around, her eyes widening with nervousness as she said shakily, "I-I have some good news."

He slammed into one of the chairs, nearly knocking the thing off of its legs. He snorted sarcastically and grunted, "What, you've found a way to overthrow that imbecile Greymane? Far too liberal these days.."

Madeline shook her head, her hands still wringing. "No.. We're going to have a baby. The priestess from the harbor told me it's going to be a little girl." She finished up the sentence quickly, and then bit her lip, watching for a reaction from the man. For a moment he just sat there, his hands entwining with each other. Then a smile appeared on his face.

It was not the smile of a man who was happy to learn of the imminent birth of his child. This smile chilled me to the bone and I took an involuntary step back, flinching. Madeline must have noticed it as well, for her nervous expression turned into one of quiet panic and her hands were clenching at each other so tightly that her knuckles were turning pale. He stood quickly and clapped his hands together, the devious and evil smile still spreading itself across his face. His little eyes were upturned with a sort of sick delight. "Wonderful, simply wonderful," he drawled, taking a step towards Madeline. She flinched. "I will make preparations at once." One of her hands fell subconsciously to hover protectively in front of her stomach. I couldn't help but worry that the windows of the large room would not be open again.

* * *

><p>There was a little girl standing in my library. She had long, dark amber-colored hair that hung around her shoulders and big brown eyes and she was struggling to carry a large tome. <em>It's almost as big as her! <em>I thought. I wanted to move and help her, but I was rooted in place, which I discovered as I futilely tried to lunge away. She slammed the book onto a table, a sigh of relief escaping her lips. She couldn't have been more than ten. "Talenne. Do not slam the books." The little girl froze, but so did I. _Talenne? Her name is Talenne?_ I could not speak either.

A man walked out of one of the aisles of books and looked down at the girl. She glanced up at the man, at the books, and then back at the man. "Papa, why do I have to read these?" She looks past the man and a little imp hopped into view, peeking into different nooks and cracks in the library. "And why can't Zurk come play? He does look so very lonely."

The man sighed deeply, as if the little girl were asking ridiculous questions which could only warrant obvious, ridiculous answers. "I told you before, Talenne. You need to learn how to become a.. a witch. A pretty witch. You will help me and come to work with me in the city. You like the city, right? And Zurk is not for playing, Talenne. He.. has other purposes. I told you that, too, remember? When you summoned him all by yourself." He shook his head and turned to walk away. "And I've told you a thousand times, you do not call me 'papa'. It is for children. I am your father." He walked out of the library, motioning for the imp to follow, which it did, although rather sadly and not before tossing a pleading look back at the girl.

The girl's brown eyes lingered on the library door for a moment longer and then she sighed, plopping herself down in a chair and opening the tome. I couldn't help but stare. Her eyes were different. I liked them. Turning my head, I saw the reflection of my own eyes in the glass of a trophy case. They were bright and gold, unnatural. Feral.

* * *

><p>There was a young man standing in the foyer. He had dark brown hair with a little bit of red in it and sharp, brown eyes, which scanned the foyer anxiously. I stood next to the front doors, blinking rapidly. I tried to move. No such luck. A door opened from the passage which ran underneath the staircase and a small young lady stepped out. The hair was the same, the stance. But when she turned her head towards me and blinked, I saw that her eyes were dark brown. I winced because I knew that mine were no longer brown.<p>

The man immediately tensed when the girl entered. She took a deep breath and smiled nervously at him. "Prepared?"

He shifted a bit and reluctantly nodded. "Yes.. Well, not really, but I suppose it's best to just get it over with."

She pouted. "Well don't sound so terribly excited!" she exclaimed sarcastically.

Suddenly, it dawned on me what I was watching. This was the beginning. I looked frantically at the front doors and tensed as I waited for them to go flying open.

He seemed to relax a little and he walked to the girl, grasping her arms tenderly and stooping down a bit to look into her eyes. "I'm sorry, Talon. You know what I mean. This is nerve-wracking. You don't feel even a little bit scared by this?"

The girl smiled as widely as she could, her brown eyes glittering. "Of course I'm scared, silly. Of course I'm nervous. But this is exciting! Things are about to get better. Don't you see that?"

"I'm standing here with you, Talon. Things are better already," he said softly. They stood with each other for a long moment, looking at each other with hope. I was entranced by this sight, so entranced that I forgot where I was for a second and when the doors next to me went flying and banging open, I gasped. A small, heavy man came scrambling into the foyer, gasping for breath and staring at the young man, wide-eyed.

"My prince! Come.. come quickly! We must.. get you back to the.. city at once! There is an attack of some sort.."

The young man's eyes flew wildly from the girl to the pudgy man and he leaned down, kissing the girl quickly on the forehead and staring intently into her eyes. "Listen to me. Stay here. When I figure out what is happening, I will send help. If there is an attack on the city, they will need me there. I promise I'll return, Talon."

The girl merely stood there, her brown eyes blinking in confusion and growing panic. The young man swept out of the foyer and onto the cobblestones outside, his scent filling my nose as he went past me. The small man skittered out after him and the doors slammed shut again. After a moment of stunned silence, the girl's eyes took on a sort of fierceness and she called out several names. The door she had originally emerged from swung open and a few creatures came tumbling out, two imps and a felhound. One of the imps bounced up onto his feet and stood straight. "Yes, mistress!" he squeaked.

"Zurk. Get the others together," the girl said. She knelt down and spoke to the imp as if it were a friend and not a servant. "I have to go speak to my father immediately. We may have an attack on our hands. Can you do this?"

The imp shared a look of shock with the other, smaller imp and even the felhound whined a bit. Then Zurk nodded. "I can, mistress! Big attack?"

The girl stood and looked worried. "Yes. Big attack, I think."

Then she looked towards the front doors and bit her lip. "Liam.. Please.."

* * *

><p>There was a girl standing in the ruins. I stood where I did before, near the front doors, or what was left of them. Splintered wood hung from the cracked hinges and was littered across the marble floor of the foyer. The polished stone was shattered in some places and dented in others, shards of black and silver rock standing at odd angles. The staircase, I saw, was slashed completely in half and some of the stairs sunk inwards. The rest of the stairs were collapsed, blocking the entrance of the passage beneath. I stared cautiously at the girl and saw that her eyes were still brown. The worst was not over yet.<p>

She breathed in ragged gasps and leaned heavily on her left side, for there was a bloody cut running down her right one. There were slashes, burns and bruises covering her from head to toe and her hair was matted and sticking to her. In her right hand she held a swirling ball of shadow and in the right a small, jumping ball of flame. Her eyes scanned the foyer carefully, but they looked like they were going dull. She looked tired. I wanted to run to her and bat away the mist that was only beginning to take hold. I wanted to run away from her and get help, get someone to protect her. I wanted to get Liam.

Then I saw the movement on the second story, the hulking figure that came slinking out of the library. I looked back at the girl. She was completely unaware of the movement because of where she was positioned, under the landing. Her eyes were dulling and the balls of shadow and fire were swirling erratically now, as if it were a struggle to keep them from extinguishing. I opened my mouth to warn her, but no sound came out. The figure moved towards the shattered stairs. The girl was fading.

I tried to scream louder and struggled as hard as I could to get free from whatever invisible force was rooting me to my spot, to no avail. The figure had caught scent of the girl and leaned it's head over the railing of the landing, the hungry-looking eyes catching sight of the quickly-dulling prey. As it hunched up its muscles to leap over the railing and down into the foyer below, one of my arms managed to move a bit. Then the other arm. I could move. But it was already too late. The figure was already swinging itself over the side of the railing. As I shook my legs free and began to run towards the unsuspecting shell of a girl, the figure landed with a huge thud, some more of the marble cracking and splintering underneath its claws.

The girl spun around quickly but clumsily, stumbling a bit. It was too slow. I was so close! I could have reached her. But I was too slow as well. The figure pounced and just before the jagged claws grabbed her and the sharp, red-stained teeth snapped into her shoulder, the girl's huge brown eyes widened and I could have sworn that she looked right at me before everything went black. In the reflection of her beautiful eyes, I saw mine. They glinted brightly and I forced myself to close them, to close the scene before me.

* * *

><p>I will remember her eyes forever. They were mine, but they now belong to a ghost. I was Talenne once, I was Liam's Talon. Who did I become, who am I now? I don't know. I'll probably never know. I live through ghosts and dreams.<p> 


	4. Revelations

My eyes flew open and I sat there for a second or two, hunched over on my stool, my face laying on the cool stone of the cooking counter. It very dark in the kitchens, for the only light was coming from a tiny, rectangular window on the far side of the room and only a small block of light was allowed in by the musty pane. I blinked a few times and raised my head up and saw that an imp was sitting patiently across from me at the other side of the counter. It blinked when I did and then finally spoke, allowing me to recognize it. "Mistress? The Miss Aggie has been looking for the mistress for the very long time. I did not tell her she was here. I just waited."

"Zurk.. Aggie? Why.." I had almost forgotten. But in that moment, it all came flooding back to me and I remembered everything. Liam had been there. And I had chased him off. _Why?_ I couldn't help but ask myself. _Why chase the only person who could help?_ Then the mist descended on me a little and my thoughts muddled. _He didn't help you. He abandoned you._ I nodded a bit to myself. Yes, he had abandoned me. Right? I was shaken out of my fuzzy thoughts by Zurk's movement as he hopped up onto his feet.

"I will go to get the Miss Aggie now and tell her that the mistress is safe and laying in the kitchens?"

I began to nod, but then I hesitated. The mist was not so strong today. It still fussed with my thoughts and slowed me down, but for some reason I felt more in control. And I had questions. "Yes, in a moment.. Zurk, sit down for a second." The imp nodded quickly and plopped back down, nearly catching his thin tail underneath him.

"Does the mistress have a question?"

I leveled my gold eyes at Zurk and looked into his huge, pure black ones. He merely stared back curiously. "You know you were my first summoning, Zurk?" He nodded quickly again. "Do you remember when?"

"Oh, of course, of course! When the mistress was very young. Nine years old?"

I nodded slowly. "Yes.. but we didn't start training together until I was thirteen."

"Yes. The mistress's father did not like for Zurk to be around during the studies."

I shuddered inwardly at the mention of my father. "Did he ever say anything to you? When he took you away from me, I mean."

Now it was Zurk's turn to hesitate. His large coal eyes blinked a few times before he said, slowly, "Yes.. Said many bad things, he did. Not really bad, maybe. Just.. worrisome. Said the mistress was an asset. No, not asset.. Weapon. Called the mistress a weapon. A warlock." He trailed off.

My father was a coward. An intelligent man and a sharp, quick man, but a coward nonetheless. He would have never dabbled in the demonic arts. That would have put him at risk and if something went wrong, he himself would be held accountable for it. But to put his child through it and then use her as a weapon, as a threat against the rest of the council members and even the king himself? No, he was not above that. In fact, that was his plan all along. I remembered the dream in which I saw the pregnant woman in the sitting room, telling her husband that she was having a little girl, and the evil smile that crept across his slimy face. _Madeline_. The name swirled and sliced its way through the mist that covered my mind.

"I am very sorry, Zurk," I whispered, "if he was mean to you."

I had always known I was being trained as a warlock. But I did not want to be like the sulking, hooded beings who stalked through the slums of Gilneas City, looking for unwary victims to participate in their rituals. I was a child, and I wanted to become friends with the beings that I summoned. So I tried my best to do so, despite the huffing and puffing of my father. Perhaps being a warlock and having the abilities that came with it was the only thing that kept me alive when my family had been ripped to shreds. I remember hearing the roars and hissing from my father's study and realizing that it was too late to save him. I remember hearing my mother's screams as she discovered Ronnie slashed away, only to be cut down herself moments later.

Zurk stared, not sure how to respond. Then he tilted his head, one of his green ears folding over a little. "Why does the mistress do that?"

I blinked quickly. "Do what?"

"Worry about the others, when it is the mistress that should not be sad. The mistress used to sing, even when her father would make her study the demon books. She does not sing anymore."

I fixed my eyes on Zurk once more, and once more he did not flinch. "I am different now, Zurk. You can tell."

He shrugged. "Different, yes. But the heart of the mistress is still the same. She can still love?"

"Love?"

"Yes. Used to love the young prince? Does she still?"

I winced at the mention of Liam. Zurk was being bold, mentioning him. "I did love him. You know what happened, though. He abandoned our family and left us to die."

Zurk was quiet for a long time and when I looked up at him again, he was biting at his bottom lip nervously. Then he piped up, almost a whisper, "Zurk does not think he abandoned the family."

"What? Why not? Did we receive any help from the soldiers? We were left to fend for ourselves."

"Overhead many things since the mistress summoned me, but very important was the advisor. Big man, beard. He speak to the young prince as he leave. Prince tell the man to send a part of soldiers to this house and harbor. The man say yes, but he had certain look. Evil, lying. Had a look like the mistress's father."

I realized that I was holding my breath and let it out all at once and I'm certain that the shock could be read from my face. A big man with a beard that was near Liam. It could really only be one person and that was a noble, one that was very close to the throne, Godfrey. I had never spoken to the man myself, but I had seen him many times. I had never liked him. He looked conniving and he was a little too clever for my own tastes. Everytime I had seen him, he had a glint in his eye, the same one that my father had acquired at times.

He was dead, though. They had found his corpse weeks earlier, at the bottom of a steep cliff drop. He had jumped. No one knew the reason, though, and if they did, they weren't sharing it.

Before I could even answer Zurk, I heard the pittering of tiny footsteps and one of the kitchen doors creaked open slightly. Two imps, both smaller than Zurk, poked their heads into the room and one of them squeaked, "Mistress! The crone calls for you. There is someone here. Very urgent, very, very urgent. The man smells of fear."

I took in a sharp breath and nodded, keeping my eyes on Zurk for a moment longer before I finally rose off of my stool. As I walked through the stone passage that would take me from the kitchens and to the foyer, I heard a distant thumping that resounded in my ears and made my chest vibrate a little, but at the time I paid it no mind. The mist had descended again and it blocked away the noise.


	5. Messenger

Just before I swept through the double doors that led into the foyer, I winced a bit as the practically solid wall of fear slammed into me. I shook my head and my heart quickened a little bit. Not even the mist could block out the wave of emotion and horror that was pulsing from the foyer. As I pushed open the doors, I could hear Aggie's frantic voice. "I am trying my best, sir! She _is_ in the estate, she is coming! Please, won't you sit down?"

A man's voice answered her. He couldn't have been more than twenty and it was reasonable to assume that he was probably just a messenger. _Why is this messenger so distraught?_ I thought to myself. I did my very best to shove the mist away and let my thoughts clear. "No, I m-must see her _now_!" In the distance, a loud thumping noise could be heard, as if someone were beating a great many drums for a celebration. At the time, however, the noise did not even pierce the mist. I was only focused on the voices in the foyer, and finding out what they wanted from me.

"Alright, sir, but I do wish you would sit down, you're making me so very nervous.." Aggie trailed off as I came into view from under the staircase and she breathed a sigh of relief, then wiped her hands on her apron and hustled up the steps, no doubt going to hide in the doorway of the study so that she could listen to the conversation while being out of sight.

I looked directly at the man. His hair was unkempt and disheveled, as if he had been running carelessly and blindly through a thick forest. He had several cuts on his hands and neck and one of his eyes was beginning to darken as if he had been punched squarely in the face. "Can I help you?" I asked calmly. Behind me, I heard Zurk and the other two imps skitter to a stop at the end of the tunnel. They were listening, too.

The man was about to speak but when he looked up at me, he froze in horror. I blinked a few times in a slight confusion before I realized that he was caught in my eyes. I stared down at one of the marble tiles on the floor and spoke again. "Can I help you?" This time, he coughed and stammered out, "L-lady Montelot? I need to speak with Lady Montelot."

"You are a messenger," I began. "Who has sent you?"

He hesitated.

A spike of fury went through me. At the time, I suppose, I should have been grateful for this sudden emotion, even if it was unwanted. At least I was feeling _something_ through the shroud that was hanging around me. I turned my eyes up and took a step towards the man. "You are so frantic and eager to speak with me and now you won't reveal who sent you? You are making unwise decisions. Either tell me where you have come from or leave my estate."

He whispered something. The spike went through me again. "Speak up. Who sent you?"

"P-prince Greymane."

Behind me, I heard Zurk shift uncomfortably. Aggie let out a slight gasp from the landing above.

The mist tightened considerably and I had to actually shake my head slightly to clear it out. "And?" I said, crossing my arms impatiently. "I told him that if he sent messengers, he would not get them back in one piece. So why are you here?"

The man's face contorted in fear as a booming sound was heard from the distance. He looked over his shoulder and out the front doors, at the foggy sky then looked back at me, his eyes pleading. This man was not afraid of me. He was too scared of whatever was outside my gates to be afraid of me. "Please, my lady, the c-city is under attack. They're dead, they're _horrible_." He looked over his shoulder again, as if expecting a headsman to come marching through the door at any moment, searching for his life.

"Under attack?" said Aggie from above, moving down the steps a bit. "The Worgen are gone, though."

Another boom was heard, this one sounding like it was a bit closer. The man let out a frazzled sound and looked around frantically, nodding his head. "No, _no_! Not the Worgen! They're.. they're dead! All of them, r-rotting as they walk!" This sounded familiar to me. A little too familiar. Gilneas bordered the lands inhabited by the Forsaken, the Undead, but would they be so bold as to attack the nation up front? I shook my head again to clear it. It didn't matter if they were Undead. I would defend my estate, and my estate only. I had learned from my mistakes of trusting the leaders in the city.

"I trust you brought a horse," I said, motioning my head towards the front doors. "So I suggest you get back on it and ride back to the city to tell them that I will have no part in defending them, as they had no part in defending me. Let them burn, I will be able to hold _my_ land."

The man began to wring his hands together, becoming more and more frantic as the seconds passed. "Please, my lady!" I ignored him and began to turn back to the passageway. Zurk was still standing there, looking up at me. "Please!" The little imp did not say anything to me, but the look in his huge, black eyes was pleading with me to hear the man out. "Prince Greymane sent me personally to get you! They need you, my lady! Please!" I narrowed my eyes at Zurk. _This imp is becoming too bold_, I thought. I shocked myself. The mist was being pushed back a little, replaced by the vibrating fear emanating off of this messenger. "He said that he knows you can fight!" I wanted my mist back. I wanted my numbness back. I wanted to grab this man by his throat and toss him out into the mud. "He said.. he said he needs his Shadow Talon to fight."

I froze and for a couple of seconds, the mist was completely dissipated. I spun around and looked the man right in the eye, making him flinch a little bit. "He said that?" I asked, speaking slowly. The man nodded so fiercely that his head might have just rolled right off of his shoulders. The foyer was silent. Aggie stood watching in the middle of the staircase, her hands clutching each other. Zurk kept his place in the passage and I could tell that his little eyes were still fixed on me. Aggie spoke up.

"Talenne. You know we will obey whatever you command. We can defend the land. Whatever you choose, dear, we will be alright."

The mist was beginning to force its way back in and for once, I would have preferred if it stayed away. I needed to think clearly in order to make this decision. In the split second before it grabbed hold again, I gritted my teeth and growled, "Go. Go before me and tell them that I am coming, with help. They will not fight alone if the Forsaken reach the city." The man needed no more persuading. He stumbled out of the foyer and outside, I could hear him struggling to get back up onto his horse. I looked up at Aggie. She had the ghost of a smile on her face and she nodded slowly. "I will leave an entire army here with you, Aggie. You will be protected. And you know that they would never harm you."

"I know, Talenne. Please, don't worry about me," said the old woman, her hands still clutching. Aggie was no coward. She was old, perhaps, but she would fight until the darkness took her, I knew that.

I turned around and bent down on one knee, speaking to Zurk. "You know what to do, little friend." The imp grinned. "Get the others. I have a lot of summoning to do."


End file.
